(-, ^yj T °"'*^ University Libraries 
 
 J New constitutio 
 
 'P^ Conf Pam #555 
 
BY THE GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA. 
 
 A PROCLAMATION. 
 
 Whereas the Convention of this Commonwealth, on the 5th day 
 of December 1861, adopted a Constitution for the State of Virginia, 
 to which is prefixed a Declaration of Rights, and on the sixtli day of 
 the same month a Schedule, which is annexed thereto, and in said 
 Schedule the Governor is required to announce the fact and publish 
 the same : 
 
 Now, therefore, I, John Letcher, Governor of the Common^ 
 wealth of Virginia, do hereby proclaim the following to be a true 
 copy of the said Declaration of Rights, Couatitution and Schedule, 
 to be submitted to the qualified voters for ratification or rejection, as 
 prescribed therein. 
 
 Given under my hand as GovernorJ and under the Seal of 
 the Commonwealth, at Richmond, this 12th day of Decem- 
 ber 1861, and in the eighty-sixth yearjof the Commonwealth. 
 
 JOHN LETCHER. 
 
 By the Governor : 
 
 George W. Munford, 
 
 Secretary of the Commonwealth. 
 
COLlEcr. 
 
 lOH 
 
 NEW 
 
 CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA, 
 
 PROPOSED FOR ADOPTION, 
 
 BY THE CONVENTION. 
 
 xe3i. 
 
 / 
 
'"'''^'^^cou^crio, 
 
 jr. r\ 
 
 A DECLARATION OF RIGHTS 
 
 
 ^^ 
 
 Made by the representatives of the good people of Virginia, assembled in 
 full and free convention, which rights do pertain to them and their pos- 
 terity as the ba^is and foundation of goveiTiment. 
 
 1. That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and 
 have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state 
 of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their pos- 
 terity ; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means oi' 
 acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining hap- 
 piness and safety. 
 
 2. That all power is vested in, and consequently derived from, the 
 people ; that magistrates are their trustees and servants, and at all 
 times amenable to them. 
 
 8. That government is, or ought to be, instituted for the common 
 benefit, protection and security of the people, nation or community; 
 of all the various modes and forms of government, that is best which 
 is capable of producing the greatest degree of happiness and safety, 
 and is most effectually secured against the danger of mal-administra- 
 tion ; and that, when any government shall be found inadequate or 
 contrary to these purposes, a majority of the community hath an in- 
 dubitable, unalienable and indefeasible right to reform, alter or abo- 
 lish it, in such manner as shall be judged most conducive to the 
 public weal. 
 
 4. That no man, or set of men are entitled to exclusive or sepa- 
 rate emoluments or privileges from the community, but in considera- 
 tion of public services, which, not being descendible, neither ought 
 the offices of magistrate, legislator or judge to be hereditary. 
 
 5. That the legislative and executive powers of the state should 
 be separate and distinct from the judiciary, and that the members of 
 the two first may be restrained from oppression, by feeling and par- 
 ticipating the burthens of the people, they should, at fixed periods, 
 
be reduced to a private station, return into that body from which 
 they were originally taken, and the vacancies be supplied by fre- 
 quent, certain and regular elections, in which all, or any part of the 
 former members to be again eligible or ineligible as the laws shall 
 direct. 
 
 6. That elections of members to serve as representatives of the 
 people in assembly ought to be free, and that all men having suffi- 
 cient evidence of permanent common interest with, and attachment 
 to, the community, have a right of suffi'age, and cannot be taxed or 
 deprived of their property for public uses, without their own con- 
 sent, or that of their representatives so elected, nor bound by any 
 law to which they have not in like manner assented, for the public 
 good. 
 
 7. That all power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, 
 by any authority, without consent of the representatives of the peo- 
 ple, is injurious to their rights, and ought not to be exercised. 
 
 8. That in all capital or criminal prosecutions, a man hath a right 
 to demand the cause and nature of his accusation, to be confronted 
 with the accusers and witnesses, to call for evidence in his favor, and 
 to a speedy trial by an impartial jury of his vicinage, without whose 
 unanimous consent he cannot be found guilty ; nor can he be com- 
 pelled to give evidence against himself; that no man be deprived of 
 his liberty, except by the law of the land or the judgment of his 
 peers. 
 
 9. That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive 
 fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted. 
 
 10. That general warrants, whereby an officer or messenger may 
 be commanded to search suspected places without evidence of a fact 
 committed, or to seize any person or persons not named, or whose 
 offence is not particularly described and supported by evidence, are 
 grievous and oppressive, and ought not to be granted. 
 
 11. That in controversies respecting property, and in suits be- 
 tween man and man, the ancient trial by jury is preferable to any 
 other, and ought to be held sacred. 
 
 12. That the freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks 
 of liberty, and can never be restrained but by despotic governments. 
 
13. That a well regulated militia, composed of the body of the 
 people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural and safe defence of a 
 free state ; that standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided 
 as dangerous to liberty ; and that in all cases the military should be 
 under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power. 
 
 14. That the people have a right to uniform government ; and 
 therefore, that no government separate from, or independent of, the 
 government of Virginia, ought to be erected or established within 
 the limits thereof. 
 
 15. That no free government or the blessings of liberty, can be 
 preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, modera- 
 tion, temperance, frugality and virtue, and by frequent recurrence to 
 fundamental principles. 
 
 16. That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and 
 the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and con- 
 viction, not by force or violence ; and therefore all men are equally 
 entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of 
 conscience; and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice christian 
 forbearance, love and charity towards each other. 
 
 lL-2.9 < A^i 
 
 I 
 
CONSTITUTION. 
 
 1. "V\nieroas, the delegates and representatives of the good people 
 of Virginia, in convention assembled, on tlie twenty-ninth day of 
 June, in the year of onr Lord one thousand seven hnndred and 
 seventy-six — reciting and declaring, that whereas, George the Third, 
 king of Great Britain and Ireland, and elector of Hanover, before 
 that tune entrusted with the exercise of the kingly office in the 
 government of Virginia, had endeavored to pervert the same into a 
 detestable and insupportal)le tyrann3\ by putting his negative on laws 
 the most wholesome and necessary for the public good ; by denying 
 his governors permission to pass laws of innnediate and pressing im- 
 poi^tance, unless suspended in their operation for his assent, and when 
 so suspended, neglecting to attend to them for many years ; by re- 
 fusing to pass certain other laws, unless the persons to be benefitted 
 by them would relinquish the inestimable right of representation in 
 the legislature ; by dissolving legislative assemblies repeatedly and 
 continually, for opposing, with manly firmness, his invasions of the 
 rights of the people ; when dissolved, by refusing to call others for a 
 lon<>- space of time, thereby leaving the political system without any 
 legislative head; by endeavoring to prevent the population of our 
 country, and for that purpose obstructing the laws for the naturali- 
 zation of foreigners ; by keeping among us, in time of peace, stand- 
 ing armies and ships of war; by afiecting to render the military in- 
 depeu<lent of and superior to the civil power; by combining with 
 others to subject us to a foreign jurisdiction, giving his assent to 
 their pretended acts of legislation ; for quartering large bodies of 
 armed troops among us ; for cutting off our trade with all parts of 
 th(; w'orld ; tor imposing taxes on us without our consent ; for de- 
 priving us of the benefits of the trial by jury; for transporting us 
 beyond seas to be tried for pretended offences ; for suspending our 
 own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power 
 to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever ; by plundering our seas, 
 ravaging our coasts, burning our towns and destroying the lives of 
 2 
 
10 
 
 i 
 our people ; by inciting insurrections of our fellow-subjects with the 
 
 allurements of forfeiture and confiscation ; by prompting our negroes 
 to rise in arms among us — those very negroes, whom, by an inhuman 
 use of his negative, he had refused us permission to exclude by law ; 
 by en^avoring to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the mer- 
 ciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistin- 
 guished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions of existence ; 
 by transporting hither a large army of foreign mercenaries to com- 
 jjlete the work of death, desolation and tyranny, then already begun, 
 with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy unworthy the head of a 
 civilized nation ; by answering our repeated petitions for redress with 
 a repetition of injuries; and, finally, by abandoning the helm of 
 government and declaring us out of his allegiance and protection; 
 by which several acts of misrule, the government of this country, as 
 before exercised under the crown of Great Britain, was totally dis- 
 solved — did, therefore, having maturely considered the premises, and 
 viewing with great concern the deplorable condition to which this 
 once happy country would be reduced, unless some regular, adequate 
 mode of civil polity should be speedily adopted, and in compliance 
 with the recommendation of the general congress, ordain and declare 
 a form of government of Virginia: 
 
 2. And whereas, a convention, held on the first Monday in Octo- 
 ber, in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine, did 
 propose to the people of the commonwealth an amended constitution 
 or form of government, which was ratified by them : 
 
 3. And whereas, a convention, held on the first day of August, 
 1851, did propose to the people of the commonwealth an amended 
 constitution, which was ratified by them : 
 
 4. And whereas, the general assembly of Virginia, by an act 
 passed January 14th, 1861, did provide for the election by the peo- 
 ple, of delegates to meet in general convention to consider the pro- 
 priety, among other things, of changing the organic law of, the 
 state, and of submitting the same to the people for ratification or 
 rejection : 
 
 5. We, therefore, the delegates of the good people of Virginia, 
 elected and in convention assembled, in pursuance of said act, do 
 propose to the people the following constitution and form of govern- 
 ment for this commonwealth : 
 
11 
 
 ARTICLE I. 
 
 BILL OF RIGHTS. 
 
 The declaration of rights, as amended and prefixed to this consti- 
 tution, shall have the same relation thereto as it had to the former 
 constitution. 
 
 ARTICLE 11. 
 
 DIVISION OF POWERS. 
 
 The legislative, executive and judiciary departments shall be sepa- 
 rate and distinct, so that neither exercise the powers properly belong- 
 ing to either of the others ; nor shall any person exercise the powers 
 of more than one of them at the same time, except that justices of 
 the peace shall be eligible to either house of assembly. 
 
 ARTICLE in. 
 
 QUALIFICATION OF VOTERS. 
 
 1. Every white male citizen of the commonwealth of the age of 
 twenty-one years, who has been a resident of the state for two years, 
 and of the county, city or town where he ofters to vote, for twelve 
 months next preceding an election, and no other person, shall be 
 qualified to vote for members of the general assembly and all officers 
 elective by the people; but no person in the military, naval /)r ma- 
 rine service of the Confederate States shall be deemed a resident of 
 this state by reason of being stationed therein; and no person shall 
 have the right to vote who is of unsound mind, or a pauper, or a 
 non-commissioned officer, soldier, seaman or marine in the regular 
 army or navy of the Confederate States, or who has been convicted 
 of bribery in an election, or of any infamous oftence. 
 
 2. The general assembhs at its first session after the adoption of 
 this constitution, and afterwards as occasion may require, shall cause 
 every city or town, the white population of which exceeds five thou- 
 sand, to be laid off into convenient wards, and a separate place of 
 voting to be established in each, and thereafter no inhabitant of such 
 city or town shall be allow(!d to vote except in the ward in which he 
 resides. 
 
 3. No voter, during the time for holding any election at which he 
 
12 
 
 is entitled to vote, shall be compelled to perform military service, 
 except in time of war or public danger; to work upon the public 
 roads, or to attend any court as suitor, juror or witness ; and no voter 
 shall be subject to arrest under any civil process during his attend- 
 ance at elections, or in going to or returning from them. 
 
 4. In all elections votes shall be given openly or viva voce, and not 
 by ballot; but dumb persons entitled to suffrage may vote by ballot. 
 
 ARTICLE IV. 
 
 LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 1. The legislature shall be formed of two distinct branches, which 
 together shall be a complete legislature, and shall be called the gene- 
 ral assembly of Virginia. 
 
 Home of delegates. 
 
 2. One of these shall be called the house of delegates, and shall 
 consist of one hundred and fifty-two members, to be chosen annually 
 for and by the several counties, cities and towns of the common- 
 wealth, the distribution and apportionment whereof shall remain as 
 now provided by law until a reapportionment of the same shall be 
 made by the general assembly, as hereinafter provided. The general 
 assembly shall have power, upon application of a majority of the 
 voters ,of the county of Campbell, to provide that instead of the two 
 delegates to be elected by said county, the town of Lynchburg shall 
 elect one delegate, and the residue of the county of Campbell shall 
 elect one delegate. And the said general assembly shall have like 
 power on the application of a majority of the voters of the county 
 of Norfolk, to provide that instead of two delegates to be elected by 
 said county, the city of Portsmouth shall elect one delegate and the 
 residue of the county shall elect one delegate. 
 
 Senate. 
 
 3. The other shall be called the senate, and consist of fifty mem- 
 bers, for the election of whom, the counties, cities and towns shall 
 be divided into fifty districts. Each county, city and town of the 
 respective districts, at the time of the first election of delegates under 
 this constitution, shall vote for one senator; and the sherifl^s or other 
 officers holding the election for each county, city or town, within 
 
13 
 
 five days after the election, shall meet at the courthouse of the county, 
 city or town first named in the district, and from the polls so taken 
 in their respective counties, cities and towns, return as senator the 
 person who has received the greatest number of votes in the whole 
 district. To keep up this assembly by rotation, the districts shall be 
 divided into four classes, and numbered by lot. The first class shall 
 consist of twelve, the second of thirteen, the third of twelve, and 
 the fourth of thirteen. The seats of the senators of the first class 
 shall be vacated at the expiration of the first year after the com- 
 mencement of their term of office; of the second cKass, at the expi- 
 ration of the second year; of the third class, at the expiration of the 
 third year; and of the fourth class, at the expiration of the fourth 
 year; so that one class may be chosen every year, and the vacancies 
 thereby occasioned shall be supplied from such class by new election 
 in the manner aforesaid. This rotation shall be applied to each class 
 according to its number, and continued in due order annually. 
 
 4. For the election of senators, the districts shall remain as now 
 arranged until representation in the two houses shall be reapportioned 
 in the manner provided in the constitution. 
 
 Airport ionment of representation. 
 
 0. It shall be the duty of the general assembly, in the year one 
 thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, and in every tenth year there- 
 after, in case it can agree upon a principle of representation, to re- 
 apportion representation in the senate and house of delegates in ac- 
 cordance therewith ; and in the event the general assembly, at the 
 first or any subsequent period of reapportionment, shall fail to agree 
 upon a principle of representation and to reapportion representation 
 in accordance therewith, each house shall separately propose a scheme 
 of representation, containing a principle or rule for the house of dele- 
 gates, in connection with a principle or rule for the senate. And it 
 shall be the duty of the general assembly, at the same session to cer- 
 tify to the governor tlie principles or rules of representation which the 
 respective houses may separately propose, to be applied in making re- 
 apportionments in the senate and in the house of delegates ; and the 
 governor shall as soon thereafter as may be, by proclamation, make 
 known the propositions of the respective houses, and require the 
 voters of the commonwealth to assemble at such time as he shall 
 appoint, at their lawful places of voting, and decide by their votes 
 between the propositions thus presented. In the event the general 
 
14 
 
 assembly shall fail, in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty- 
 five, or in any tenth year thereafter, to make such reapportionment 
 or certificate, the governor shall, immediately after the adjournment 
 of the general assembly, by proclamation, require the voters of the 
 commonwealth to assemble, at such time as he shall appoint, at their 
 lawful places of voting, and to declare by their votes : 
 
 First, whether representation in the senate and house of delegates 
 shall be apportioned on the " suffrage basis ;" that is, according to 
 the number of votes in the several counties, cities, towns and sena- 
 torial districts of the commonwealth: 
 
 Or, second, whether representation in both houses shall be appor- 
 tioned on the " mixed basis ;" that is, according to the number of 
 white inhabitants contained, and the amount of all state taxes paid, 
 in the several counties, cities and towns of the commonwealth, de- 
 ducting therefrom all taxes paid on license and law process, and any 
 capitation tax on free negroes, allowing one delegate for every seven- 
 ty-sixth part of said inhabitants, and one delegate for every seventy- 
 sixth part of said taxes, and distributing the senators in like manner : 
 
 Or, third, whether representation shall be apportioned in the senate 
 on taxation ; that is, according to the amount of all state taxes paid 
 in the several counties, cities and towns of the commonwealth, de- 
 ducting therefrom all taxes paid on license and law process, and any 
 capitation tax on free negroes, and in the house of delegates on the 
 " suffrage basis," as aforesaid : 
 
 Or, fourth, whether representation shall be apportioned in the se- 
 nate on the " mixed basis," as aforesaid, and in the house of delegates 
 on the " suffrage basis," as aforesaid ; and each voter shall cast his 
 vote in favor of one of said schemes of apportionment, and no more. 
 
 6. It shall be the duty of the sheriffs and other officers taking said 
 polls to keep the same open for a period of three days, and within 
 five days after they are closed to certify true copies thereof to the 
 governor, who shall, as early as may be, ascertain the result of said 
 vote, and make proclamation thereof; and in case it is ascertained 
 that a majority of all the votes cast is in favor of either of the prin- 
 ciples of representation, referred as aforesaid to the choice of the 
 voters, the governor shall communicate the result of such vote to the 
 general assembly at its first regular session thereafter ; but in case it 
 
15 
 
 is ascertained that a majority of all the votes cast is not in favor of 
 either of the principles of representation, referred as aforesaid to the 
 choice of the voters, it shall be the duty of the governor, as soon as 
 may be, after ascertaining the fact, in like manner to cause the voters 
 to decide between the two principles of representation which shall 
 at such previous voting have received the greatest number of votes ; 
 and he shall ascertain and make proclamation of the result of the 
 said last vote, and communicate the same to the general assembly at 
 its next regular session ; and, in either case, the general assembly, at 
 the regular session thereof, which shall be held next after the taking 
 of the vote, the result of which shall have been so communicated to 
 it by the governor, shall reapportion representation in the two houses 
 respectively, in accordance witli the principles of representation in 
 each, for which a majority of the votes cast were given ; and it shall 
 be the duty of the general assembly, in ever)'- tenth year thereafter, 
 to reapportion and distribute the number of senators and delegates in 
 accordance with the same principle. 
 
 Qnallfication of senators and delegates. 
 
 7. Any person may be elected senator, who, at the time of elec- 
 tion, has attained the age of twenty-live years, and is actually a resi- 
 dent within the district, and qualified to vote for members of the 
 general assembly, according to this constitution ; and any person may 
 be elected a member of the house of delegates, who, at the time of 
 election, has attained the age of twenty-one years, and is actually a 
 resident withiu the county, city, town, or election district, qualified 
 to vote for members of the general assembly, according to this consti- 
 tution ; but no person holding a lucrative office, no minister of the 
 gospel or priest of any religious denomination, no salaried officer of 
 any banking corporation or company, shall be capable of being elected 
 a member of either house of assembly. The removal of any person 
 elected to either branch of tlie general assembly from the county, 
 city, town or district for which he was elected, shall vacate his office. 
 
 Powers and duties of the general assembly. 
 
 8. The general assembly shall meet once in every year, and not 
 oftener, unless convened by the governor in the manner prescribed 
 by the constitution. Neither house, during the session of the general 
 assembly shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more 
 than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two 
 
16 
 
 houses shall be sitting. A majority of each house shall constitute a 
 quorum to do business ; but a smaller number may adjourn from day 
 to day, and shall be authorized to compel the attendance of absent 
 members in such manner and under such penalties as each house 
 may provide. 
 
 9. The house of delegates shall choose its own speaker, and in the 
 absence of the lieutenant governor, or when he shall exercise the 
 office of governor, the senate shall choose from their own body a 
 president pro tempore; and each house sliall appoint its own officers, 
 settle its own rules of proceeding, and direct writs of election for 
 supplying intennediate vacancies ; but if vacancies shall occur during 
 the recess of the general assembly, such writs may be issued by the 
 governor under such regulations as may be prescribed by law. Each 
 house shall judge of the election, qualification and returns of its 
 members, may punish them for disorderly behavior, and with the 
 concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member, but not a second time 
 for the same offence. 
 
 10. The members of the assembly shall receive for their services 
 a compensation, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the public 
 treasury ; but no act increasing such compensation shall take effect 
 until after the end of the term for which the members of the house 
 of delegates voting tliereou were elected ; and no senator or delegate, 
 during the term for which he shall have been elected, shall be ap- 
 pointed to any civil office of profit under the commonwealth, which 
 has been created, or the emoluments of which have been increased, 
 during such term, except offices filled by elections by the people. 
 
 11. Bills and resolutions may originate in either of the two houses 
 of the general assembly, to be approved or rejected by the other, and 
 may be amended by either house, with the consent of the other. 
 
 12. Each house of the general assembly shall keep a journal of 
 its proceedings, which shall be published from time to time, and the 
 yeas and nays of the members of either house, on any question, shall, 
 at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal. 
 No bill shall become a law until it has been read on three different 
 (iays of the session in the house in which it originated, unless two- 
 thirds of the members elected to that house shall otherwise deter- 
 mine. 
 
17 
 
 13. The whole number of members to which the state may at any 
 thne be entitled in the house of representatives of the Confederate 
 States, shall be apportioned as nearly as may be amongst the several 
 counties, cities and towns of the state, according to their respective 
 numbers ; which shall be determined by adding to the whole number 
 of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, 
 and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all othor persons. 
 
 14. In the apportionment, the state shall be divided into districts, 
 corresponding in number with the representatives t.> which it may 
 be entitled in the house of representatives of the congress of the 
 Confederate States, which shall be formed respectively of contiguous 
 counties, cities and towns, be compact, and include, as nearly as may 
 be, an equal number of the population, upon which is based repre- 
 sentation in the house of representatives of the Confederate States. 
 
 15,. The privik^ge of the writ of habeas corpus shall not in any case 
 be suspended. The general assembly shall not pass any bill of at- 
 tainder ; or any ex post facto law ; or any law impairing the obliga- 
 tion of contracts ; or any law whereby private proper! }'■ shall be 
 taken for public uses without just compensation ; or any law abridg- 
 ing the freedom of speech or of the press. No man shall be com- 
 ' polled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry 
 whatsoever ; nor shall any man be enlbrced, restrained, molested, or 
 burthened in his body or goods, or otherwise sufter on account of his 
 religious opinions orluelicf; but all men shall be free to profess, and 
 by argument to maintain their opinions in matters of religion, and 
 the same shall in nowise affect, diminish or enlarge their civil capa- 
 cities ; and the general assembly shall not prescribe any religious test 
 whatever; or confer any peculiar privileges or ad\^antages on any 
 sect or denomination, or pass any law requiring or authorizing any 
 religious society, or the people of any district within this common- 
 wealth, to levy on themselves or others any tax for the erection or 
 repair of any house for public worship or for the support of any 
 church or ministry ; but it shall be left free to every person to select 
 liis religious instructor, and to make for his suppcJrt such private con- 
 tract as he shall please. 
 
 IG. Every law, or resolution having the force of law, shall relate 
 to but one subject, which shall be expressed in the title. 
 
 17. The general assembly may pri>vidc that no person shall be 
 3 
 
18 
 
 capcable of holding, or being elected to any post of profit, trust or 
 emolument, civil or military, legislative, executive or judicial, under 
 the government of this commonwealth, who shall hereafter fight a 
 duel, or send or accept a challenge to fight a duel, the probable issue 
 of which may be the death of the challenger or challenged, or who 
 shall be second to cither party, or shall in any manner aid or assist 
 in such duel, or shall be knowingly the bearer of such challenge or 
 acceptance ; but no person shall be so disqualified b}'" reason of his 
 having heretofore fought such duel, or sent or accepted such chal- 
 lenge, or been second in such duel, or bearer of such challenge or 
 acceptance. 
 
 18. The governor, lieutenant governor, judges and all others 
 offending against the state, by maladministration, corruption, ne- 
 glect of duty, or other high crime or misdemeanor, shall be im- 
 peachable by the house of delegates, and be prosecuted before the 
 senate, which sliall have the sole power to try impeachments. 
 When sitting for that purpose they shall be on oath or affirmation ; 
 and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two- 
 thirds of the members present. • Judgment, in cases of impeachment 
 shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualifica- 
 tion to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the 
 commonwealth; but the party convicted shall nevertheless be sub- 
 ject to indictment, trial, judgment and punishment according to law. 
 Tlie senate may sit during the recess of the general assembly for the 
 trial of impeachments and the consideration of executive business. 
 
 Slaves and free negroes, 
 
 19. Slaves hereafter emancipated shall forfeit their freedom by 
 remaining in the I'iommonwealth more than twelve months after they 
 become actually free, and it shall be the duty of the general assembly 
 to prescribe proper regulations for reducing such negroes to slavery. 
 
 20. The general assembly may prohibit the future emancipation 
 of slaves, impose such restrictions and conditions as they shall deem 
 proper on the power of slave owners to emancipate their slaves, and 
 may pass laws for the relief of the commonwealth from the free 
 negro population, by removal or otherwise. 
 
 21. The general assembly shall not emancipate any slave, or 
 the descendant of any slave, either before or after the birth of such 
 descendant* 
 
1^ 
 
 Taxation and finance. 
 
 ■22. Taxation shall be equal and uniform througliout the common- 
 wealth, and all property shall be taxed in proportion to its value, 
 which shall be ascertained in such maimer as may be prescribed by 
 law ; but any property may be exempted from taxation by the vote 
 of a majority of the whole number of members elected to each 
 house of the general assembly. 
 
 23. A capitation tax, equal to the tax assessed on land of the 
 value of two hundred dollars, shall be levied on every white male 
 inhabitant who has attaineil the age of twenty-one years ; but no- 
 thing heroin contained shall prevent exemptions of taxable polls in 
 cases of bodily infirmity. 
 
 24. The general assembly may levy a tax on incomes, salaries and 
 licenses ; but no tax shall be levied on property from which any in- 
 come so taxed is derived, or on the capital invested in the trade or 
 
 business in respect to which the license so taxed is issued. 
 
 j> 
 
 25. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in pursuance 
 of appropriations made by law ; and a statement of the receipts, dis- 
 bursements, appropriations and loans shall be published after the ad- 
 journment of each session of the general assembly, with the acts 
 and resolutions thereof. 
 
 26. On the passage of every act which imposes, continues or re- 
 vives a tax, or creates a debt or charge, or makes, continues or re- 
 vives au}^ appropriation of public or trust money or property, or re- 
 leases, discharges or commutes any claim or demand of the state, the 
 vote shall be determined b}?^ yeas and nays, and the names of the 
 persons voting for and against the same, shall be entered on the jour- 
 nals of the respective houses, and a majority of all the members 
 elected to each house shall be necessary to give it the force of a law. 
 
 27. The liability to the state of any incorporated company or in- 
 stitution, to redeem the principal and pay the interest of any loan 
 heretofore made, or which may hereafter be made by the state to 
 such compawy or institution, shall not be released ; and the general 
 assembly shall not pledge the faith of the state, or bind it in any 
 form, for the debts or obligations of any company or corporation. 
 
 2S. There shall be set apart annually, from the accruing revenues, 
 
a sum equal to seven per cent, of the state del3t existing on the first 
 day of Januar}^ in the year one thousand eight hundi-ed and fifty- 
 two. The fund thus set apart shall be called the sinking fund, and 
 shall be applied to the payment of the interest of the state debt, and 
 the principal of sucli part as may be redeemable. If no part be re- 
 deemable then the residue of the sinking fund, after the payment of 
 such interest, shall be invested in the bonds or certificates of debt of 
 this commonwealth, or of the Confederate States, or of some of the 
 states of this Confederacy, and applied to the pa3'ment of the state 
 debt, as it shall become redeemable. Whenever, after the said first 
 day of January, a debt shall have been or shall be contracted by the 
 commonwealth, there shall be set apart in like mamier, annually, for 
 thirty-four years, a sum exceeding by one per cent, the aggregate 
 amount of the annual interest agreed to be paid thereon at the time 
 of its contraction ; which sum shall be part of the sinking fund, and 
 shall be applied in the manner before directed. The general assem- 
 bly shall not otherwise appropriate any part of the sinking fund or 
 its accruing interest, except in time of war, insurrection or invasion. 
 
 29. The general assembly niay, at any time, direct a sale of the 
 stocks held by the commonwealth in internal improvement and other 
 companies; but the proceeds of such sale, if made before the pay- 
 ment of the public debt, shall constitute a part of the sinking fund, 
 and be applied in like manner. 
 
 30. The general assembly shall not contract loans or cause to be 
 issued certificates of debt or bonds of the state, irredeemable for a 
 period greater than thirty-four years. 
 
 General pro visions. 
 
 31. The general assembly shall not grant a charter of incoi*pora- 
 tion to any church or religious denomination, but may secure the 
 title to church property to an extent to be limited by law. 
 
 32. No letter}^ shall hereafter be authorized by law; and the buy- 
 ing, selling or transferring of tickets or chances in any lottery not 
 now authorized by a law of this state shall be prohibited. 
 
 33. No new county shall be formed with an area less than six 
 hundred square miles; nor shall the county or counties from which 
 it is formed be reduced below that area; nor shall any county, hav- 
 ing a white population less than five thousand, be deprived of more 
 
21 
 
 than one-fifth of such population; nor shall a county having a larger 
 white population be reduced below four thousand. 
 
 34. The general assembly shall confer on the courts the power to 
 grant divorces, change the names of persons, and direct the sale of 
 estates belonging to infants and other persons under legal disabilities, 
 but shall not, by special legislation, grant relief in such cases, or in 
 an}' other case of which the courts or other tribunals may have 
 jurisdiction. 
 
 35. The general assembly shall provide for the periodical registra- 
 tion in the several counties, cities and towns of the voters therein ; 
 and for the annual registration of the births, marriages and deaths in 
 the whife population, and of the births and deaths in the colored 
 population of the same, distinguishing between the number of the 
 free colored persons and slaves. 
 
 3G. The manner of conducting and making returns of elections, 
 of determining contested elections, and of filling vacancies in office, 
 in cases not specially provided for by this constitution, shall be pre- 
 scribed by law. And the general assembly may declare the cases in 
 which any office shall be deemed vacant, where no provision is made 
 for that purpose in this constitution. 
 
 37. It shall be the duty of the general assembly to provide by 
 law adequate protection against all infractions of the rights guaran- 
 teed to the citizens of this commonwealth by the seventh, eighth and 
 tenth sections of the bill of rights of Virginia, and by the fourteenth, 
 fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth clauses of the ninth section of 
 the first article of the constitution of the Confederate States. 
 
 ARTICLE V. 
 
 EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 Govcjiior. 
 
 1 . The chief executive power of this commonwealth shall be vested 
 in a governor. He shall hold the office for a term of four years, to 
 commence on the first day of January next succeeding his election, 
 and be ineligible to the same office for the term next succeeding that 
 for which he was elected, and to any other office during his term of 
 service. 
 
22 
 
 2. The governor shall he elected by the voters, at the times and 
 places of choosing members of the general assembly. Returns of 
 the election shall be transmitted, under seal, by the proper officers to 
 the secretary of the commonvi^ealth, who shall deliver them to the 
 speaker of the house of delegates on the first day of the next session 
 of the general assembly. The speaker of the house of delegates 
 shall, within one week thereafter, in the presence of a majority of 
 the senate and house of delegates, open the said returns, and the 
 votes shall then be counted.- The person having the highest number 
 of votes shall be declared elected, if such number be a majority of 
 the whole number of votes cast ; and if no person have such majority, 
 then from the persons having the highest number of votes, not ex- 
 ceeding three, the general assembly shall by a joint vote of the two 
 houses elect the governor. Contested elections for governor shall be 
 decided by a like vote, and the mode of proceeding in such cases 
 shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 3. No person shall be eligible to the office of governor unless he 
 has attained the age of thirty years, is a native citizen of one of the 
 Confederate States, and has been a citizen of Virginia for five years 
 next preceding the election. 
 
 4. The governor shall reside at the seat of government; shall re- 
 ceive five thousand dollars for each year of his service, and, while in 
 office, shall receive no other emolument from this or any other go- 
 vernment. 
 
 5. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed ; com- 
 municate to the general assembly at every session the condition of 
 the commonwealth ; recommend to their consideration such measures 
 as he may deem expedient ; and convene the general assembly on ap- 
 plication of a majority of the members of both houses thereof, or 
 when in his opinion the interest of the conmionwealth may require 
 it. He shall be commander-in-chief of tlie land and naval forces of 
 the state ; have power to embody the militia to repel invasion, sup- 
 press insurrection, and enforce the execution of the laws; conduct 
 either in person or in such other manner as shall be prescribed by 
 law, all intercourse with other and foreign states ; and during the re- 
 cess of the general assembly fill, pro tempore, all vacancies in those 
 offices for which the constitution and laws make no provision ; but 
 his appointments to such vacancies shall be by commissions to ex- 
 pire at the end of thirty days after the commencement of the next 
 
23 
 
 session of the general assembly. He shall have power to remit fines 
 and penalties in such cases and under such rules and regulations as 
 may be prescribed by law; and except when the prosecution has 
 been carried on by the house of delegates, or the law shall otherwise 
 particularly direct, to grant reprieves and pardons after conviction, 
 and to commute capital punishment; but he shall commimicate to 
 the general asscndjly, at each session, the particulars of every case 
 of fine or penalty remitted, of reprieve or pardon granted, and of 
 punishment commuted, with his reasons for remitting, granting, or 
 commuting the same. 
 
 6. He may require information in writing from the officers in the 
 executive departments upon any subject relating to the duties of 
 their respective offices; and may also require the opinion, in writing, 
 of the attorney general upon any question of law connected with his 
 official duties. 
 
 7. Commissions and grants shall run in the name of the common- 
 wealth of Virginia, and be attested by the governor, with the seal of 
 the commonwealth annexed. 
 
 Lieutenant govenwj: 
 
 S. A lieutenant governor shall be elected at the same time, and for 
 the same term as the governor, and his qualification and the manner 
 of his election in all respects shall be the same. 
 
 9. In case of the removal of the governor from office, or of his 
 death, failure to qualify, resignation, removal from the state, or ina- 
 bility to discharge the powers and duties of the office, the said office, 
 with its compensation, shall devolve upon the lieutenant governor ; 
 and the general assembly shall provide by law for the discharge of 
 the executive functions in other necessary cases. 
 
 10. The lieutenant governor shall be president of the senate, but 
 shall have no vote ; and, while acting as such, shall receive a com- 
 pensation equal to that allowed to the speaker of the house of dele- 
 gates. 
 
 Sccretarij of the commonwealth, treasurer and auditor. 
 
 11. A secretary of the commonwealth, treasurer and an auditor of 
 public accounts, shall be elected by the joint vote of the two houses 
 of the general assembly, and continue in office for the term of two 
 years, unless sooner removed. 
 
24 
 
 12. The secretary sliall keep a record of the official acts of the 
 o-overnor, which shall be signed by the governor and attested by the 
 secretary; and, when required, he shall loy the same and any papers, 
 minutes and vouchers pertaining to his office, before either house of 
 the general assembly ; and shall perform such other duties as may be 
 prescribed by law. 
 
 13. The powers and duties of the treasurer and auditor shall be 
 such as now are, or may be hereafter prescribed by law. 
 
 Board of public loorJcs. 
 
 14. The general assembly shall organize a board of public works, 
 to continue so long as may be necessary, and with such powers as 
 may be conferred by law. 
 
 Militia. 
 
 15. The manner of appointing militia officers shall be prescribed 
 by law. 
 
 ARTICLE VI. 
 
 1. The judicial power shall be vested in the courts of appeal, in 
 the circuit courts, and the judges thereof, in the county and corpo- 
 ration courts, in the justices of the peace, and in the magistrates who 
 may belong to corporate bodies. The general assembly may also 
 constitute special courts of appeal, to consist of not less than three 
 nor more than five judges, constituted of the judges of the courts of 
 appeal and of the circuit courts, or any of them, to try any cases that 
 may be on the docket of either of the courts of appeal, in respect to 
 which a majority of the judges of either court may be so situated as 
 to make it improper for them to sit on the hearing thereof, and also 
 to try any cases on the said dockets which cannot otherwise be dis- 
 posed of with convenient dispatch. * 
 
 2. The jurisdiction of these tribunals, of the judges and justices 
 thereof, and of the magistrates of tlie corporate bodies, shall be re- 
 gulated by law ; except that the courts of appeal shall have appel- 
 late jurisdiction only, unless in cases of habeas corpm, mandaimis and 
 prohibition. They shall not have jurisdiction in civil cases where 
 the matter in controversy, exclusive of costs, is less than one hun- 
 dred dollars, except in controversies concerning the title or bounda- 
 ries of land, the probat of a will, the appointment or qualification of 
 
^ 25 
 
 a personal representative, guardian, committee or curator ; or con- 
 cerning a mill, road, way, ferry or landing, or the right of a corpora- 
 tion or of a county to levy tolls and taxes, or in cases involving free- 
 dom or the constitutionality of a law. 
 
 3. There shall be two courts of appeal, to consist of three judges 
 each, any two of whom shall make a quorum ; one of these shall be 
 a court of equity, the other a court of law. 
 
 4. The state shall be divided into not less than twenty-one judi- 
 cial circuits, which shall remain as now established until altered by 
 the general assembly. For each circuit a judge shall be appointed, 
 who, during his continuance in office, shall reside in the circuit of 
 which he is judge, and hold a court at least twice a year in every 
 county and corporation thereof wherein a circuit court is established, 
 but a judge of one circuit may hold a court in any other circuit. 
 The number of circuits shall not be increased unless by the concur- 
 rent vote of a majority of all the members elected to each house of 
 the general assembly ; and with the concurrence of a majority of the 
 members elected to each house, provision may be made for more than 
 one judge in a city or town. 
 
 5. The judges of the courts of appeal and of the circuit courts 
 Bhall be appointed by joint vote of the two houses of the general 
 assembly, connnissioned by the governor, and shall hold their offices 
 during good behavior, or until they attain the age of seventy years, 
 or until removed in the manner prescribed in this constitution ; and 
 shall, at- the same time, hold no other office, appointment, or public 
 trust ; and the acceptance thereof by either of them shall vacate his 
 judicial office. 
 
 G. The judges shall receive fixed and adequate salaries, which 
 shall not be diminished during their continuance in office. The sala- 
 ries of the judges of the courts of a[)peal shall not be less than three 
 thousand dollars each, and that of a judge of the circuit court not 
 less than two thousand dollars per annum, except the salary of the 
 judge of the fifth circuit, which shall not be less than fifteen hundred 
 dollars per annum ; and each shall have a reasonable allowance for 
 necessary travel. 
 
 7. The judges may be removed from office by a concurrent vote 
 of both houses of the general assembly, but a majority of all the 
 4 
 
26 
 
 members elected to each house must concur in such vote ; and the 
 cause of removal shall be entered on the journal of each house. 
 The judge against whom the general assembly may be about to pro- 
 ceed, shall receive notice thereof, in such manner as may be pre- 
 scribed by law, accompanied by a copy of the causes alleged for his 
 removal, at least twenty days befbre the day on which either house 
 of the general assembly shall act thereon. 
 
 8. There shall be a county court in each county of the common- 
 wealth, which shall be lield monthly, by three justices of the peace, 
 except when the law shall require the presence of a greater number. 
 
 9. Each count}'" shall be laid off into districts as nearly equal as 
 may be in territory and population. In each district four justices of 
 the peace shall be chosen by the qualified voters thereof, who shall 
 be commissioned by the governor, reside in their respective districts, 
 and be at the time of their election qualified voters of the common- 
 wealth, and hold their offices for the term of twelve- years. At the 
 first court after the election and qualification of the justices, under 
 this constitution, or as soon thereafter as may be, they shall be di- 
 vided into four classes ; each class to consist of one justice from 
 each district, to be numbered by lot. The term of service of the 
 first class shall expire at the end of three years ; of the second class 
 at the end of six years ; of the third class at the end of nine years ; 
 and of the fourth class at the end of twelve years ; and this alterna- 
 tion shall be continued, so that one fourth of the justices may be 
 chosen every third year. Vacancies occurring in the office of justice 
 after the first election, shall be filled by the justices of the county, 
 they having been first summoned for the purpose, and a majority of 
 those present shall be necessary to make an election.. The term of 
 the justice so elected shall expire at the end of the term for which 
 his predecessor was elected* The justices of each county shall select 
 one of their own body to be the presiding justice of the county court 
 of their^county : whose duty it shall be to attend each term of the 
 said court. The other justices shall be classified by law for the per- 
 formance of their duties in court. 
 
 10. The justices may receive for their services in court a per diem 
 compensation, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the county 
 treasury ; but they shall not receive any fee or emolument for other 
 judicial services. 
 
27 
 
 11. The power and jurisdiction of justices of the peace within 
 their respective counties shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 12. The officers of the courts of appeal, and of the special courts 
 of appeal, shall be appointed by the said courts respectively, or by 
 the judges thereof, in vacation, and their duties, compensation and 
 tenure of office shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 13. Clerks and attorneys for the commonwealth for the circuit 
 courts shall be appointed by the circuit courts, or by tlie judges 
 thereof respectively, and clerks and attorneys for the commonwealth 
 for the county courts shall be appointed by such courts respectively, 
 for the term of six years, and their duties and compensation shall be 
 prescribed by law. They shall be removable from office by their re- 
 spective courts ; but in every case of removal the cause thereof shall 
 be entered of record in the court by which the removal was made. 
 Vacancies in said offices shall be filled by the courts respectively in 
 which they occur. 
 
 14. The attorney general shall be appointed by joint vote of the 
 two houses of the general assembly, and commissioned by the go- 
 vernor, and shall hold his office during the pleasure of the general 
 assembly. 
 
 1-5. Sherifls shall be nominated b}' tlie respective county courts, 
 and when appointed by tlie governor shall be commissioned by him, 
 and hold their offices for two years, but no person commissioned as 
 sheriff for one term shall be nominated for another term, unless, prior 
 to such nomination, he shall have duly accounted for all public dues 
 that may have come into his hands. 
 
 16. Coroners, constables, surveyors, commissioners of the revenue, 
 and overseers of the poor, shall be appointed by the county courts, 
 and the terms of their offices shall be prescribed by the general as- 
 sembly. 
 
 17. Justices of the peace, sheriffs, attorneys for the common- 
 wealth, clerks of courts, and all other county officers, shall be sub- 
 ject to indictment for malfeasance, misfeasance, or neglect of official 
 duty ; and, upon conviction thereof, their offices shall become vacant. 
 
 18. The general assembly shall provide for the compensation of 
 jurors ; but appropriations for that purpose shall not be made from 
 the state treasury except in prosecutio:r^.s for felonies or misdemeanors. 
 
»S8 
 
 19. The cases remaining in the district courts when this constitu- 
 tion is adopted shall be removed for trial into the courts of appeal. 
 
 20. Judges and all other officers, except the commissioners of the 
 board of public works, shall continue to discharge the duties of their 
 respective offices, after the terms of their service have expired, until 
 their successors a^e qualified. The commissioners of the board of 
 public works shall continue in office until otherwise provided by the 
 general assembly. 
 
 21. Writs shall run in the name of the commonwealth of Virginia, 
 and be attested by the clerks of the several courts. Indictments shall 
 conclude " against the peace and dignity of the commonwealth." 
 
 Coijmrat'wn courts and ojjicers. 
 
 22. The general assembly may vest such jurisdiction as shall be 
 deemed proper in corp^^ration courts, and in the magistrates who shall 
 belong to the corporate body. The mayor, or other chief magistrate, 
 the aldermen in cities and towns having hustings courts, and mem- 
 bers of the council or other legislative body of cities and incorpo- 
 rated towns, shall be elected by the qualified voters thereof. Attor- 
 neys for the commonwealth, clerks, sergeants and constables, shall be 
 appointed by the corporation courts. Sheriffs, if they act as the 
 officers of the corporation courts, shall be noininated by such courts, 
 otherwise they shall be nominated by the circuit court of the city or 
 town in which they act, and shall in either case be commissioned by 
 the governor. All other officers shall be chosen by the council or 
 legislative body. Clerks and attorneys for the commonwealth of cor- 
 poration courts shall hold office respectively for the term of six years, 
 and shall be removable from office by their respective courts, but in 
 every case of removal, the cause thereof shall be entered of record 
 in the court by which the removal was made. 
 
 Done in convention, in the city of Richmond, on the fifth day of 
 December, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 
 sixty-one, and in the eighty-sixth year of the commonwealth of Vir- 
 ginia. 
 
 ROBERT L. MONTAGUE, 
 
 Fresidcnt of tlie Convention. 
 JOHN L. EUBANK, 
 
 Secretary of the Convention. 
 
 
29 
 
 SCHEDULE. 
 
 1. It shall be the duty of the president of this convention, imme- 
 diately on its adjournment, to certify to the governor, a copy of the 
 bill of rights and constitution adopted, together with this schedule. 
 
 2. Upon the receipt of such certifi<Hl copy, the governor shall 
 forthwith announce the fact by proclamation, to be published in such 
 newspapers of the state as may be deemed requisite for general in- 
 formation, and shall annex to his proclamation a copy of the bill of 
 rights and constitution, together witli this schedule; which procla- 
 mation, bill of rights, constitution and schedule, shall be published 
 In the manner iudicated, for the period of one month, and twenty 
 printed copies thereof shall, by the secretary of the commonwealth, 
 be immediately transmitted by mail to the clerk of each county and 
 corporation court in the commonwealth, to be by such clerk sub- 
 mitted to the examination of any person desiring the same. 
 
 3. The otBcers authorized by existing laws to conduct general 
 elections, shall, at the places appointed for holding the same, open 
 a poll book on th-ci second Thursday in ]\Iarch 1862, to be headed the 
 " Constitution as amended and Schedule," and to contain two sepa- 
 rate columns, the first column to be headed " for ratifying," the 
 other to be headed "for rejecting." And such officers keeping said 
 polls open for the space of three days, shall then and there receive 
 and record in said poll book the votes for and against this constitu- 
 tion and schedule, of all persons qualified, under the existing consti- 
 tution, to exercise the right of sufirage. The said officers shall at 
 the same time open another poll book, headed " the right of sufirage," 
 containing two columns, one headed " for the payment of the reve- 
 nue, county and corporation levies and poor rates, assessed within 
 the preceding year, as a qualification to vote;" the other headed " for 
 the right of suffi-age, without the payment of the revenue, county 
 and corporation levies and poor rates, assessed within the preceding 
 year, as a qualification to vote." This poll book shall, in like man- 
 ner, be kept open for the space of tlu'ce days, and the votes of all 
 persons qualified to vote for the adoption or rejection of this amended 
 constitution shall be received and recorded for or against said 
 qualification. 
 
30 
 
 4. The commissioners conducting tlie election at the several pre- 
 cincts of each county and corporation, shall ascertain the number of 
 votes given for each proposition, and certify the said poll books, and 
 forthwitli return the same to the clerks of their respective county 
 and corporatioii courts, and within ten days thereafter the com- 
 missioners superintending the election at the courthouse of each 
 county or corporation, shall make out two returns in the following 
 form : "We, A. B. &c. commissioners for holding an election for the 
 adoption or rejection of the amended constitution, for the county (or 
 corporation) of , do hereby certify that an election was held 
 on the da}' of , for the said county (or corporation), 
 pursuant to law, and that the following is a statement of the vote as 
 exhibited by the poll books, viz : For the adoption of the amended 
 constitution votes, and for the rejection of the constitution 
 votes ; for the qualification of the right of suffrage votes, and 
 against the qualification of the right of suffrage votes. Given 
 under our hands this the day of , in the year ;" 
 which returns, written in words and not in figures, shall be signed 
 by the commissioners. One of the said returns shall be filed in the 
 clerk's office of the county or corporation, and the other shall be 
 sent to the governor of the commonwealth, under seal. 
 
 5. The governor shall, without delay, make proclamation of the 
 result, stating therein the aggregate vote for and against the amended 
 constitution and schedule, and for and against the qualification of 
 the right of suffrage, to be published in such newspapers in the state 
 as may be deemed requisite for general information ; and if a ma- 
 jority of said votes be cast in favor of the qualification of the right 
 of suffrage, then the 1st section of the 3d article shall read as follows: 
 
 " Qualification of voters. 
 
 " 1. Every white male citizen of the commonwealth of the age of 
 twenty-one years, v.-ho has been a resident of the state for two years, 
 and of the county, city or town where he offers to vote for twelve 
 months next preceding an election, and who, if assessed in such 
 county, city or town, with part of the revenue of the commonwealth, 
 county or corporation levies or poor rates for the year next preceding, 
 shall have actually paid the same, and no other person, shall be 
 qualified to vote for members of the general assembly and all officers 
 elective by the people ; but no person in the military, naval or ma- 
 rine service of the Confederate States, shall be deemed a resident of 
 
31 
 
 this state by reason of being stationed therein ; and no person shall 
 haveithe right-to vote who is of unsound mind, or a pauper, or a 
 non-^m missioned officer, soldier, seaman or marine in the regular 
 army or navy of the Confederate States, or who has been convicted 
 of bribery in an election, or of any infamous offence." 
 
 6. The qualified voters of the commonwealth, who may be in the 
 military service of the state, or of the Confederate States, may vote 
 for the ratification or rejection of the amended constitution and sche- 
 dule, and for and against the qualification of the right of suffi'age, 
 at such place or places within their encampment or post as the com- 
 mander at such encampment or post shall designate, whether the said 
 encampment or post shall be within the limits of this state or not. 
 But if, on the said day of election, the condition of any regiment 
 made up in whole or in part of persons qualified to vote in said elec- 
 tion, shall be such as to render it impossible for said persons to vote 
 within the post or encampment to which such regiment may belong, 
 such election, so far as said regiment is concerned, may be held on 
 any other day, to be fixed by the commander of such post or encamp- 
 me^it, so that the same be not more than ten days after said day of 
 election. For each place of voting he shall appoint a superinten- 
 dent, three commissioners and as many clerks as shall be necessary, 
 who, after having been first duly sworn" by him, shall perform the 
 duties required of, and be liable to the penalties imposed upon, such 
 officers under the election laws of this state. The qualified voters of 
 the commonwealth, not in the military service, who may be absent 
 from the counties or corporations of their residence, by reason of the 
 presence of the public enemy, may vote in any county or corpora- 
 tion in which they may be on the day of election. 
 
 7. The officers conducting the said election shall, on the day after 
 the election, or as soon thereafter as may be, deliver the poll books 
 to their said commander, who shall forthwith forward the same to 
 the governor of this commonwealth, who shall count the said votes 
 in ascertaining the result of the said election in the state. 
 
 8. The secretaiy of the commonwealth shall cause to be sent to 
 the clerks of each county and corporation court, and to the military 
 commanders above referred to, the poll books and forms necessary in 
 the. election hereinvprovided for — transmitting the same, when neces- 
 sary, by special messengers. The expenses incurred in providing said 
 poll l)ooks and forms and transmitting the same, and in procuring 
 writers to enter the names of the voters therein, shall be defrayed as 
 in the case of the election of members to the general assembly. 
 
32 
 
 9. The duties to be performed by the officers conducting the elec- 
 tion, the privilege of the voters, and the penalties for reisconducihon 
 the part of any person, shall be the same in all respects as are pre- 
 scribed by law in the case of other elections. 
 
 10. All persons who shall be in office when this amended consti- 
 tution is adopted shall continue in office until the -expiration of their 
 respective terras of service, ajid until their successors are qualified, 
 unless sooner removed pursuant to law, except that senators of the 
 second class, according to the classification made under the present 
 constitution, shall be placed in the first and second classes of the 
 classification to be made under the provisions of this constitution. 
 Vacancies occurring in the office of justice of the peace after the 
 adoption of this constitution, and before any election of justices is 
 held under it, shall be filled in the same manner as is therein pro- 
 vided for filling vacancies occurring in said office after the first 
 election. 
 
 11. The supreme court of appeals shall continue to exercise its 
 present jurisdiction until the courts of appeal, established by this 
 constitution, shall be organized, and the judges thereof who may bd 
 in office at the first session of the general assembly under this con- 
 stitution may be assigned to the duties of either of the courts of ap- 
 peal, according to the pleasure of the general assembly. All laws in 
 force when this constitution is adopted, and not inconsistent there- 
 with, and all rights, prosecutions, actions, claims and contracts, shall 
 remain and continue as if this constitution was not adopted. 
 
 12. The term of service of the delegates first elected to the gene- 
 ral assembly under this constitution shall commence' at the end of the 
 term of service of the delegates now elected. The first general elec'- 
 tion of delegates to the general assembly under this constitution shall 
 be held on the fourth Thursday in May 1863, unless otherwise pro- 
 vided by law. 
 
 Done in convention, in the city of Richmond, on the sixth day of 
 December in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 
 sixty-one, and in the eighty-sixth year of the commonvt-'ealtb of Vir- 
 ginia. 
 
 EGBERT L. MONTAGUE, 
 
 President o/i the Convention. 
 
 JOHN L. EUBANK, 
 
 Sccrelary of the Convention. 
 
pH8.5